The Ball is in Paul Ryan’s Court Again

Paul Ryan came in demanding the conservatives in the House of Representatives bend to his will, including tossing a 215 year old rule written by Thomas Jefferson to prevent a tyrannical Speaker of the House.

House Conservatives refused all of Paul Ryan’s preconditions. They also refused a unanimous endorsement of Paul Ryan. But a two-thirds majority backs Ryan and headlines across the news media point out that this effectively clears the way for Paul Ryan to get into the Speaker’s Chair.

This is the best of both worlds. Paul Ryan can move to the Speaker’s chair and the House Freedom Caucus held its ground against a coordinated campaign to box them into an untenable position with an endorsement.

I hope the House conservatives pay attention to this. They stayed united, they did not give Ryan an endorsement, but two-thirds of their members were willing to go along with Paul Ryan as Speaker while rejecting Ryan’s preconditions.

The ball is now in Paul Ryan’s court and the onus on Paul Ryan. That is what needed to happen.

If Paul Ryan refuses after two-thirds of the House Freedom Caucus were willing to support his Speakership, it is not the conservatives who are unreasonable. It’s the man who refused to compromise on his demands. At least that’s what the establishment always tells us about conservatives unwilling to compromise.